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Authorities shutter "Novaya Gazeta"'s Samara edition

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(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 13 November 2007 CPJ press release:

RUSSIA: Authorities shutter Novaya Gazeta's Samara edition

New York, November 13, 2007 - The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the effective closure last week of the local edition of the Moscow-based independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta in the southern city of Samara and the criminal indictment of the edition's editor for alleged use of counterfeit software.

On Thursday, Samara police raided the local bureau and confiscated Editor Sergei Kurt-Adzhiyev's personal computer - the only one left after an earlier raid on the paper on May 11 - along with all the publication's financial papers, Novaya Gazeta reported. In mid-October, Samara prosecutors charged Kurt-Adzhiyev with violating copyright provisions under Russia's penal code. Violations carry up to six years in prison.

"The authorities in Samara have effectively silenced an independent newspaper that dared to cover an opposition party campaign in an election year," CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. "We call on local prosecutors to drop all charges against Sergei Kurt-Adzhiyev, return all seized equipment and financial documents, and allow the paper to print without fear of harassment."

The pressure on the Samara edition of Novaya Gazeta started in May when the Other Russia opposition coalition, led by Garry Kasparov, was staging one of its Dissenters' Marches in the southern city. On May 11, several officers from the Samara Main Internal Affairs Directorate (GUVD) arrived at the paper at noon, seized all of its computers, and accused the staffers of "using counterfeit software," the newspaper reported on its Web site. Hours later, five more officers came to the newsroom and confiscated all of the bureau's papers, Novaya Gazeta Samara correspondent Darya Grigoryan reported. The local edition regularly reported on Other Russia activities.

Oleg Panfilov, head of the Moscow-based Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, said Russian authorities have used the obscure software charge in the past to harass independent and opposition organizations. The indictment against Kurt-Adzhiyev claims that U.S. software giant Microsoft and a local software company suffered damages worth 132,409 Russian rubles (US$5,395) because of the editor's actions, Novaya Gazeta reported.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.cpj.org

Since 2012, the Russian authorities have intensified a crackdown on freedom of expression, selectively casting certain kinds of criticism of the government as threats to state security and public stability and introducing significant restrictions to online expression and invasive surveillance of online activity.

Throughout the year there were reports of attacks, threats, censorship, arrests, and prison sentences against both journalists and ordinary citizens who had posted or shared politically sensitive information online.

The Russian authorities detained at least 61 people in different cities across the country for holding unauthorized protests ahead of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi on 7 February 2014.

A new bill provides for the immediate blocking of websites with content regarded by the prosecutor’s office as extremist. Inciting hatred or terrorist acts are already grounds for blocking. Now, urging people to participate in unauthorized protests would also be viewed as "extremist."

Charges against dozens of protesters in connection with the protest on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s 2012 inauguration are "inappropriate" and "disproportionate," according to a panel of independent experts. Twenty seven people are facing "mass rioting" charges in connection with the protest on May 6, 2012.

Russia is the sixth deadliest country in the world for journalists in the last 16 years. Moreover, as impunity for attacks on journalists in Russia remains the general rule and the vast majority of cases remain unsolved, the true tally could be even higher.

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